Shoe-fastening



' G. A. MooN.

SHOE FASTENING.

` APPLICATION FILED OCT- 7. 1919; 1 ,358,647, v Patented Nov. 9, 1920.

IMI

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHOE-FASTENING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov.Y 9, 1920.

Application filed October 7, 1919. Serial No. 329,099.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. MOON, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in Shoeelastenings, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to fastening means, and particularly pertains to a shoe fastener for laced shoes.

Due to the fact that considerable time is lost and there is quite a bit of inconvenience in lacing and unlacing shoes, it is thought of advantage to provide some improvement in laced shoe fasteners; and it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a fastening means which embodies the use of a shoe lace, and which will insure that the shoe may be instantly fastened or unfastened without removing the laces from their original position through the eyelets of the shoe-upper.

The present invention contemplates the use of a false upper piece, through which eyelets are formed and which is detachably secured to the main upper by means of fasteners which may be instantly brought into engagement or caused to disengage, thus permitting` the shoe to be readily fastened or unfastened, as the case may be.

The invention is illustrated by way of eX- ample in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, showing a shoe equipped with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in perspective, illustrating the upper of a shoe and more clearly disclosing the present invention and the manner in which it acts to fasten the halves of the shoe upper together.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in central section through the fastening member` showing the hook engagement of the two fastenine4 elements.

Referring particularly to the present drawings. it will be seen that an ordinary shoe is illustrated as having the usual laced upper. This upper portion is adapted to be opened and its contiguous edges are provided with eyelets 10, which are arrange along the opposite flaps 11 and 12 of the upper. Threaded through these eyelets is a shoe lace 13` which lace is also threaded through eyelets 14 of a fastening pad 15. This pad is preferably made of leather and and to conform. to the style and contour thereof.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the eyelets are continued in their arrangement along the edge of the flap portion 11 and that they are only arranged for a portion of the length of the Hap 12. The eyelets which are omitted from the ilap 12 are supplemented by the eyelets 14 of the fastening pad 15. Thusit'will be seen that, when the pad is inproper position and secured in a manner which will be hereinafter set forth, a continuous row of eyelets will be provided along each of the flaps 11 and 12 and it will be possible to properly lace the shoe and tie the end of the lace in the manner now common. i

The pad member 15 not only carries a plurality of eyelets 14 but also a series of metallic hook members 16. These are complementary to fastening hooks 17 formed alongthe Hap 12 and in place of the usual eyelets 10, which would be arranged throughout the length of this flap. The hooks 16 and 17 are so arranged in relation to each other as to either be brought into engagement by hooking completely over each other or by slipping sidewise and between the jaws of the hook portions, and are formed in such a manner as to become interlocked so that accidental movement will not disenga ge them. This may be accomplished in the present instance by forming the hooks with a concaved transverse section.

In the operation of the present invention the pad 15 is placed in proper position upon the flap 12 and thereafter the lace 13 is woven through the evelet's 10 and 14, in any desired fashion, to fasten the shoe. lVhen it is desired to unfasten the shoe. the knot of the lace need not be molested. and it will onlv be necessary to pull upwardly upon the pad member 15. which will cause the hooks 16 tomove laterallv from their seating posi tion within the hooks 17 and permit ther pad .15 to become disengaged from tbe flan 12. When the pad has been removed it will appear as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawinfrs and will thus permit the shoe to be easily removed from the foot. y

It will thus be seen that the, invention here disclosed. while cuite simple as to its structural elements. at the same time provides convenient and inexpensive means for fastening a laced shoe and insuring that it may be easily removed from the foot ofthe wearer or fastened thereupon in a minimum amount of time.

While I have shown the preferred ,formen my invention as now known to me, it will beunderstood-that various changes inthe combination, construction and arrangement of parts maybe made `by'thoseskilled inthe art without departing from the spiritrof the present' invention as claimed. 1

Having'thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPa-b ent's l. A laced shoe in whichthe Vvamp lis Vseparated into two parts, opposing eyelets in the edges ofthe lower parts of the opening, a single lacing string crossing from hooks fixed to the opposite edge: of t e flap havingtheir line ofpull transverseto the vamp opening, and co-acting hooks i'iXed to .the opposite edge'of the vampopeningsaid hooks having their open sides transverse to the line ofrpull, and` the openings of the irst named hooks, to enable the hooks to engage or disengage in line transverse to the pull when the vamp opening is to be separated.

2. In combination with a laced shee hav ing separableup'per flaps along which eyelets are arranged andthrough which a shoe lace may be threaded, a pad member formed withv Va plurality of eyelets to complete the row of eyelets along oneside of the shoe fiap a plurality of' hook-shaped fasteners 'secured to therflap in lieu oil the ,missing eyelets, said fastener being convex in transverse section, and a` plurality of comple mentary fastening members carried by the Ypadand of convex section and adapted to be shifted transverse to the line ot pull when closed to interlock with the fastening members of'tlieap and to thereby complete the lacing of the shoe.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my lhand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses., c y

GEORGE A. MCGN.

Witnesses IV;.W. HEALEY,

AL MQ HEALEY. 

